Retract

v. t.	1.	To draw back; to draw up or shorten; as, the cat can retract its claws; to retract a muscle. [imp. & p. p. Retracted; p. pr. & vb. n. Retracting.]
	2.	To withdraw; to recall; to disavow; to recant; to take back; as, to retract an accusation or an assertion. I would as freely have retracted this charge of idolatry as I ever made it. - Bp. Stillingfleet.
	3.	To take back,, as a grant or favor previously bestowed; to revoke.
v. i.	1.	To draw back; to draw up; as, muscles retract after amputation.
	2.	To take back what has been said; to withdraw a concession or a declaration. She will, and she will not; she grants, denies, Consents, retracts, advances, and then files. - Granville.
n.	1.	(Far.) The pricking of a horse's foot in nailing on a shoe.

Verb	1.	retract - formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs" Synonyms: abjure, forswear, recant, resile
	2.	retract - pull away from a source of disgust or fear Synonyms: shrink back
	3.	retract - use a surgical instrument to hold open (the edges of a wound or an organ) Synonyms: draw back, pull back
	4.	retract - pull inward or towards a center; "The pilot drew in the landing gear"; "The cat retracted his claws" Synonyms: draw in

TO RETRACT. To withdraw a proposition or offer before it has been accepted.
     2. This the party making it has a right to do is long as it has not been accepted; for no principle of law or equity can, under these circumstances, require him to persevere in it.
     3. The retraction may be express, as when notice is given that the offer is withdrawn; or, tacit as by the death of the offering party, or his inability to complete the contract; for then the consent of one of the parties has been destroyed, before the other has acquired any existence; there can therefore be no agreement. 16 Toull. 55.
     4. After pleading guilty, a defendant will, in certain cases where he has entered that plea by mistake or in consequence of some error, be allowed to retract it. But where a prisoner pleaded guilty to a charge of larceny, and sentence has been passed upon him, he will not be allowed to retract his plea, and plead not guilty. 9 C. & P. 346; S. C. 38 E. C. L. R. 146; Dig. 12, 4, 5.

abandon, abjure, abolish, abrogate, annul, assert the contrary, back, back down, back out, backwater, belie, cancel, cede, climb down, contest, contradict, contravene, controvert, counter, countermand, counterorder, crawfish out, cringe, cross, deny, disaffirm, disallow, disannul, disavow, disclaim, disgorge, disown, dispense with, dispose of, disprove, dispute, do away with, do without, draw back, draw in, drop, duck, dump, eat crow, eat humble pie, fall back, flinch, forgo, forswear, gainsay, get along without, get rid of, give away, give up, have done with, impugn, invalidate, join issue upon, kiss good-bye, make a sacrifice, make void, not accept, not admit, nullify, oppose, override, overrule, palinode, part with, pull back, pull in, pull out, quitclaim, recall, recant, refuse to admit, refute, relinquish, render up, renege, renounce, repeal, repudiate, rescind, resign, retreat, retrocede, retrograde, reverse, revoke, sacrifice, set aside, shrink, shy, spare, surrender, suspend, swallow, swear off, take, take back, take issue with, throw up, unsay, vacate, void, waive, wince, withdraw, write off, yield

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